Versione delle 11:47, 13 giu 2019

Nepteam, a French investment fund, has acquired Couach Yachts, pledging to keep all of the employees and invest in the megayacht builder’s future.

According to several news reports in France, Nepteam finalized the deal yesterday. It acquired all shares of Couach from Groupe Vial, which has owned the yacht builder since 2009 and been seeking a buyer since 2010. “We wanted this wonderful brand and upscale French residence,” Christian Chevalier, president of Nepteam, is quoted as saying. “We plan to invest over the long term.” Eric Robert Peillard, appointed as president of Couach in 2010, is expected to remain.

Some reports state that Nepteam has ties to marine power through a friend of Chevalier’s. That friend is Florent Battistella, the former CEO of Converteam Group. Converteam Group, sold to General Electric earlier this year, specializes in manufacturing motors and generators, variable-speed drives, and other items for the oil and gas industries and the offshore industry, as well as for merchant marine and naval purposes.

Some news reports state that Groupe Vial was previously negotiating with a China-based firm, Weichai, which specializes in engines. In fact, according to the newspaper Sud-Ouest, the late Fabrice Vial, the former head of Couach, started the talks with Weichai. Fabrice Vial was killed in Corsica aboard his own yacht this summer. Despite a Memorandum of Understanding reportedly being signed prior to his death, the Vial family decided not to proceed with the deal.